When I was a 10-year-old kid, my family and I drove across the United States, from New Jersey to Utah, to visit relatives. In 1957 there were no superhighways after the turnpikes ended in Illinois. Our station wagon had no air conditioning. The six of us (my sisters were 3 and 4 years old, my brother, 9) survived somehow.

I can remember driving across Kansas, heading for Colorado. I was the navigator and handled maps. It was easy driving, but rather monotonous. We would hit a town in Kansas and I would look at the map to see where the next town was. I would see the grain storage... Login to read moreNot a subscriber? Click here to subscribe. -- Frederick M.